How Does Your Company State It's Philanthropic Goals and Mission?

We talk a lot about mission in many of our posts. For example, companies like the House of Marley that describes theirs simply as "putting Bob's beliefs into action",  or the Feed Project that has a whole page dedicated to their stated mission.

A lot of companies miss this essential step of not having a carefully formalized and stated mission statement about their charitable giving. Too bad for them and for the causes they serve, as having a clear sense of what your business wants to achieve in its charitable giving is a tremendous advantage. 

I have been recently helping a local non-profit to build partnerships with local businesses. So I have been carefully scrutinizing a variety of business's website for their info on community giving. My impressions of these are that they go from being fairly simply stated goals on up through a well stated mission. 

Anything written down is a good start, but the clearer the mission and the more employees that are engaged in the drafting, the more impact your philanthropy can have.

Here are some of the stated goals and missions I have come across: 

 Fenwick and West:"We choose to partner with and contribute to organizations with which we can assist in achieving their goals. We believe this integrated approach offers the greatest value to the recipient organizations."

Foxhunt:"has formed collaborative relationships with targeted nonprofits to support youth educational, athletic,and performing arts programs.

Tech CU:"is proud to be a strong supporter of community initiatives that impact the neighborhoods where our members live and work."

CPP: "Consistent with its corporate vision, CPP’s philanthropic activities today focus on contributing to programs that support people, promote educational opportunities, and help under served communities."

 

Many of these do specify more clearly on their sites what kinds of projects they fund, how they involve their employees and how non-profits can apply for funding. 

There is a great advantage for every business that gives back to the community to sit down with employees and develop a mission for their philanthropy because of the following advantages:

• Gives charities a clear cut procedure to follow when submitting their requests
• Creates a review system  to process the charitable applications
• Makes charitable decisions more thoughtful and carefully chosen
• Engages the employees in the charitable giving process
• Aligns the philanthropy with the mission of your business
• Helps assess whether you have achieved your goals and purpose

How does you company state its philanthropic goals and mission? Let me know.

 

Cause Marketing for Your Cause First , You Second

Cause Marketing has been booming and along with it has come some criticism and objections to using it as selfish self promotion rather than as an opportunity to give back to a favorite cause, to the point of even suggesting that it is "dead". But there are many examples of companies that  have been exemplary in representing a true giving partnership.  Joe Waters of Selfish Giving, defined cause marketing as: "a partnership between a non-profit and a for-profit for mutual profit", to which he has added several categories amongst which includes: message promotion.

But whose message? One would think the partnership would be one of somewhat  balanced messages about the cause and the business that is giving back the cause. Here are examples of cause marketing via message promotion that  puts the charity squarely in the forefront and outweighs the time allotted to the for-profit's message.

I spend a lot of time in my car, as many Californians do, where I first heard what was presumably another ad on the news station. It sounded more like a public service piece, the kind when stations offer free air time to charities. This ad provided information about the plight of foster children in our local communities. A foster child spoke about the challenges they face on a daily basis, and the kind of the support that they need for their well being. For the longest time there was no mention of any business associated with this ad, this was for most part a campaign to build  awareness for this cause. I knew which company was sponsoring this as I had  featured Sleep Train on this blog last year.
Towards the end Sleep Train did make known their sponsorship, by requesting that customers help support their program for foster children with their donation of shoes, clothing, backpacks and other necessary items at their participating stores. They also directed listeners to find out more about foster children on their link on the Sleep Train website.
No mention of mattresses, or of their stores, no sales pitch or special offers. Only at the end you heard their recognizable little jingle and the toot-toot.

Another ad I heard not too long ago began in a similar way, putting the cause first. The president of the Peninsula Humane Society talked about the work they do to help save stray and forgotten animals. Towards the end, the sponsoring company Pet Food Express mentioned their ongoing support of this organization with funding, volunteering and in-kind donations of pet food and supplies.You can check out on their giving back page other causes they support.


It's expensive to pay for media advertising, ( I know, I used to sell advertising space). As a result it is rare to hear and learn about local charities and causes on radio. They cannot afford to pay for this kind of  marketing. By sponsoring media ads for the charities, businesses have give back to the cause the great gift of increasing awareness and presumably generating more donations to the cause.

Yes, the business gets a bit of the air time for the brief mention of their name.  But the most positive thing they that have received out this partnership is a great big "Toot-toot" and hurrah, for giving the cause the opportunity for promoting their important message.

House Of Marley's Triple Bottom Line Is Jammin' With You

"One love, one heart. Let's get together and feel alright."
Those lyrics, written by Bob Marley and Curtis Mayfield, could be a serious contender for the most famous ever written, right? Now Marley's family is continuing his vision of peace and love via a bold, vibrant business venture called The House of Marley, a line of branded music products inspired by the iconic singer-songwriter.

The product line, founded on Marley's trademark "love of people, love of the earth," is guided by four principles. First, their products are designed for superior quality. The House of Marley's flagship products include several lines - dubbed Jammin', Freedom and Destiny - of top-quality headphones, earbuds and docks, all exhibiting a flair for Marley funk, and built for long-term durability.

Second, everything is sustainably sourced. All House of Marley products utilize recyclable aluminum and plastics, and the wood is certified by the FSC, or Forest Stewardship Council, guaranteeing the trees were harvested via the highest standards of sustainability.

Third, the House of Marley is cause-minded. To that end, the Marley family formed a sister organization, 1Love, an organization that "puts Bob's beliefs into action" by partnering with charitable groups around the world, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the environmental wing of the UN, Charity: Water, a non-profit geared toward bringing potable water to developing countries, and The African Leadership Academy, designed to train the next generation of leaders from each of the fifty-four African nations.

Finally, the products are waste conscious, designed to keep their recyclable packaging and parts out of the waste stream. The House of Marley also encourages customers to donate their old headphones to be repurposed, thereby keeping them out of landfills.

Jump on over and check some of the fun features of both their site and the business, including the YouTube Drum Circle, the first of many interactive music experiments the House of Marley will be coordinating. This one features a soundboard of sorts that allows you to mix and match together your own drum circle beat to upload to the Internet.

With style, a strong sense of mission, and of course a love of music, The House of Marley is bringing back Bob's vision.

Wondering How Your Business Can Navigate the Maze of Giving?

Understanding philanthropy can be a maze that can confuse and discourage any business that would like to start a giving program. There are a whole lot of worthy causes out there that small businesses may have the desire to give to but don't understand the landscape of  philanthropy enough to know where to begin. While some businesses prefer to support local causes and non-profits, others would to like support organizations that address broader problems such as health, hunger, water, poverty, the environment, or world peace. And when disasters strike, like last year's earthquake in Haiti, knowing which types of donations and which charities are  the most effective at delivering aid becomes critical. 

Sometimes businesses may have a cause in mind  but are unsure of which charities deserve their philanthropy. Take for example the cause of promoting breast cancer awareness and supporting breast cancer research. With all the "pink" around in Oct. how would one necessarily know which breast cancer non-profit to give to -Susan B.Komen for the Cure or The Breast Cancer Research Foundation? What is helpful is to have a guide that anyone can use to check out the different charities and their effectiveness.

The folks at  Masters of Public Administration.com have published online such a resource:  Give Smart: 25 Websites To Learn A Charity's Effectiveness and Efficiency. Their site offers the links to 25 websites of organizations and government agencies that rate charities, compile approval ratings, and unmask illegal behaviors. Small businesses can now have the opportunity to research which charities are well managed and which ones best serve their cause effectively which can help them make decisions on where to give wisely.

Joseph Morris the founder of Masters Of Business Administration.com offers a basic definition of what qualifies as a charity:

According to the IRS, an organization qualifies as a charity if 35% or less of its income goes to administrative expenses such as salary and operating costs.

And he adds that:

With literally thousands of groups qualifying, it can be confusing to decide which organization to give to. Every day, the images of those who need help reach us, along with mailings, charity walks, food drives, and even guys dressed as Santa ringing a bell.
With literally billions of dollars at stake, how does the average person navigate this maze of giving?

Here are a few of the organizations that assess and rate charities using different criteria that Joseph Morris  has mentioned:

American Institute of Philanthropy- Stop here for a nationally prominent charity watchdog service whose purpose is to help donors make informed giving decisions. They rate, grade, focus on top salaries, and other hot issues in the charity sector. You can also read tips for giving wisely and hear what others have to say.a charity watchdog service help donors make informed giving decisions by rating and grading non-profit organizations.
Charity Navigator- This site works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,500 of America’s largest charities. You can browse by every category from animals to religion. There are also loads of top ten lists to keep you busy such as “Top 10 Most Requested Charities” and “10 Super-Sized Charities.” There are also tips, methodology information, and more. Be sure not to miss the blog with more in charity evaluation.lists charities by categories and evaluates the based them on their
Guide Star-The tagline of this site is “trusted data, customizable analysis, targeted results.” Recently reviewed organizations often make the list and are done by volunteers, clients, and donors. They even offer an Exchange Seal to outstanding charities.

In addition, the guide lists associations and government agencies such as the BBB ( Better Business Bureau), the IRS, the FBI, the FTC, other blogs and online reports that research and document fraud and illegal behaviors in the non-profit sector and other useful sources such as online news sites, and websites, most notably The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

This is a terrific resource where any business can find almost anything that one needs to know in order to be able make an informed decision about how best to administer their philanthropy.

Related posts you may be interested in:
Looking For a Cause
100 Books That Will Inspire Your Giving
How Not To Business Philanthropy Like Skecher's BOBS
Black and White and Pink All Over

Are You Or Your Business Deluged With End Of Year Requests From Charities?

Have you noticed how more and more of your  friends are starting charities? How more and more friends are on boards and committees of non-profits and so more and more of them are helping raise money for a good cause? Just this week, I have received four newsletters, one phone call, two e-mail requests, one letter and one phone call -all from friends. They all say the same thing: charities have been hard hit, this is a really worthy cause, won't you give, give again, or give more?

Personally, what I find frustrating are the ambivalent feelings rising up in me. Yes, they are all worthy causes and yes, I want to help my friends as I have been there too helping raise money for a cause. I am finding it tougher and tougher to fend these requests off while at the same time feeling guilty that I have to do so.The trap that I am in, and I am sure this applies to many people, is that as these requests increase so has my total giving while at the same time individual donations to my favorite charities have decreased from previous years. It is hard to say to them: "I am giving to you less this year, because I am now also giving to, (for example) an orphanage in Africa.

Is this experience any different if you are small business, or large one for that matter?  You may have already have a favorite community cause or causes that you employees care about that you have been sponsoring all along, If you have a giving plan, you may already budgeted your charitable contributions for the year, Yet, you too are probably deluged with solicitations from local charities and you would like to help-you really would.. Add to all of this the fact businesses this past year have had even less to give than before.

Here is an example from a local business owner in Lane County, Eugene Oregon, where businesses have seen pleas for help from local charities climb as the economy has declined in the past three years.

“There’s so many probably deserving groups that it’s really hard — you can’t even take all the calls,” said Rob Bennett, owner of Bennett Management Company and the Downtown Athletic Club. Plus, he added, “We have relatively less (to give) than what we did three years ago. We’re holding our own, but the decisions are harder and the amount we can contribute is down from earlier years.” Register.com

Last year, we posted: "How To Say No (and Yes) To Charity Requests, which gave suggestions on how to cope with this increase in requests for donations.

What I think this holiday scramble really points to is that private giving (not at the Bill Gates' billionaires level) is being tapped out and charities need to turn to seek support from businesses both during the holidays and all year in order to survive. Even if a business cannot give much in cash donations there are so many ways that a business can do to help that private individuals cannot.

Here are some ideas:

• Create an employee giving program where employees choose which organizations they would like support.
• Matching grants for private donations( which have proven to be enormously successful) .
• Engaging customers for a cause-even a jar on the counter asking for spare change to help a worthy cause, can add up to a lot. Check out how Whole Foods and Safeway do this.
• Donate products, services, expertise.
• Volunteer, have employees volunteer in teams.
• Cause marketing promotion, attracting customers to purchase with a portion of the sales going to a cause.
• Set out collection bins for food, toys, clothing, even cell phones. 

So now- because as a single supporter  I have fewer of these options, I have to go off and write some checks before the end of the year hoping that these will help my favorite causes.

How American Express Small Busines Saturday Could Work To Fight Hunger

While retail businesses are waiting anxiously to see whether consumers are feeling less pinched on this big holiday shopping weekend, the lines at the local food banks have doubled.

Small, local businesses have been hurt with the downturn of the economy contributing to the loss of jobs and reduced revenue to local communities. And yet, small businesses, many of them featured here, throughout this downturn have been finding creative ways to help support their local communities in spite of their own hard times.

Several posts here,earlier addressed the need for small businesses to understand that one of the most powerful ways for small businesses to grow is by giving back to their local communities. As I pointed out earlier small business can identify local community needs often better than larger companies and can offer unique opportunities for sponsorships and partnerships to local charities.

Now, small businesses may be getting a chance to get in on the weekend shopping madness with the declaration of Small Business Saturday.

This Saturday, November 27th comes a national movement, via American Express, to drive shoppers to support small businesses called Small Business Saturday(SM). This day was created to support the small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country.

Here is how the program works:

* American Express is giving a $25 statement credit(1) to 100,000 Cardmembers who register their Card and use it to shop on Small Business Saturday at any locally-owned, independent small businesses that accept American Express.

* American Express is also giving $100 of free Facebook advertising(2) to 10,000 business owners who sign up at facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday to help build online buzz and drive customers to shop at their businesses on Small Business Saturday. By simply entering a few pieces of information and clicking a button, these business owners can create a personalized, geo-targeted ad that will run on Facebook leading up to November 27th. Facebook has donated $500,000 in Facebook credits for these small business owners to use in the future.

 * Small business owners can also download online promotional materials and use a number of social media tools to promote their businesses on the inaugural Small Business Saturday.

* Everyone can spread the word about the day and their favorite businesses by giving a shout-out to their favorite local shops and restaurants via Facebook and Twitter.

* For every person who ‘likes’ Small Business Saturday on Facebook, American Express is donating $1 up to $500,000 to Girls Inc. to empower young women to be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

There are great reasons to support local businesses and here are the four reasons their site gives.

For every $100.00, $68.00 returns to the community.
Small Businesses employ over half of all private sector employees.
Small businesses represent over 99% of all employer firms.
In the last decade, 60-80% of new jobs were generated by small businesses.

And I'd like to add one more:

As small businesses grow they can give more back to their community.

So, I'd like to see a scenario where Small Business Day Can help boost a local business and help a cause, such as hunger:

In my area, in Palo Alto, CA a local men's clothing store, Patrick James is hosting an annual food drive until Nov.30th. Customers who bring canned items to any Patrick James store receive 15% off of that days purchase.

Now couple that with small business day, where a customer of a Patrick James store, could bring in canned goods for the, receive a 15% discount for their purchase and the $25.00 credit from American Express.

Let there be no doubt about the fact that the American Express Small Business Day is a strategy to boost the use of American Express credit card during the holiday season while aiming to boost sales for local small businesses. This is not meant as a criticism as this move is purely strategic and may prove to be a boon for the local small businesses.

Should they continue this idea, I would love to see some kind of partnering with local causes which would create a real boon to communities all over this country, and help to eradicate hunger, as well as other important causes.

Businesses Promote Give Back to School Shopping

Businesses are hoping to involve the customer in tried and true methods of collecting everything from dollar donations for school lunch programs, such as Whole Foods' latest initiative, their partnership with the saladbar project , to donating towards backpacks for needy children through Staples’ latest philanthropic effort, StaplesGive-Backpack.

Other businesses have kicked off back to school shopping campaigns with what they describe as “pay back” programs that are designated for support of local schools.Large and small retail businesses and consumer products companies, all across this country, are hoping this back to school shopping season will be a good one, and that makes them all the more interested in attracting customers, mostly the parents of these school kids, by getting them involved in raising money for their local schools through their purchases.

Although some cynics may consider this just a another cause marketing ploy, many of these companies have a very strong corporate commitment to supporting schools in other ways and see the “give back” programs as being in alignment with their overall strategic giving plan that is implemented throughout the entire school year.
Here listed below are some large and small businesses that are seeking ways to support schools with their “buy and give back” programs.

Target

Take Charge of Education® is a school fundraising program: Target credit-card holders can designate up to 1 percent of their card purchases to the K-12 school of their choice. To have advantage of this program, visit. At present, more than 102,000 schools and more than 3.5 million Target customers participate in the program. Celebrating its 10-year milestone this year, Target has donated more than $200 million to participating schools since the program's inception. Launched in 2006, the Target Field Trip Grants Program helps educators bring learning to life through the distribution of field trip grants. In the program's first year, nearly $800,000 was awarded to 800 educators across the country. Parents, in association with their schools, can apply for the program online.

General Mills

We all shop for groceries, sometimes two or three times a week –- or more. Now turn those shopping trip into easy cash for your school, and encourage friends to do the same! Just look for the Box Tops logo on hundreds of products like Cheerios®, Hamburger Helper® and Kleenex®, in almost every aisle of the store. All you need to do is clip and send them to your school’s Box Tops coordinator —- each one is worth 10¢ for your school.

Safeway Inc.

One of the largest corporate supporters of education, giving more than $20 million to schools and education programs each year.
This week Safeway launched its 6th Annual 10% Goes Back to Schools program, a special in-store initiative that unites over 150 food manufacturers in support of education and students throughout the United States.
Through the 10% Goes Back to Schools program, which runs through September 14, 2010, Safeway is partnering with food manufacturers to donate 10 percent of the sale price of more than 2,300 selected products to local schools designated by customers.

Office Depot

This unique cash-back program for schools can not only benefit your child's school now, but help keep them in free supplies all year long. All you need to do is make a qualifying purchase at Office Depot and present your school's 5% Back to Schools program ID - and we'll take care of the rest.

It’s not just the big stores and large companies that help cusotmers shop and give back to local schools. Just in my backyard, there is an independent bookstore, (yes, one of a rare breed) where they donate 10% of purchase to a shopper’s designated school; a local Chamber of Commerce that created a Shop Local program with a collaborative of twenty businesses that give back a percentage of sales to the local schools for supplies; a candy store that gives all proceeds of sales to the local school; and a clothing boutique that gives five percent back to the local elementary school if the customer lives in that school’s district.

There are dozen's of ways any sized business can come up with ways to involve their customers with support of their local schools, school children, and education. Finding there is a need is easy. One just needs to take a ride on the school bus around the corner.